In the Mahabharata, Brahma is said to have become the Ikshana (eye), in the form of this mobile and immobile universe, of all entities that took birth; in the phrase Vrishbhekshana, Virishbha implies the Vedas and ikshana, the eye.[3]Kalidasa, in the phrase मदिरेक्षणे appearing in passage II.72 of his Abhigyanashakuntalam, has also used the word Ikshana to mean the eye, which phrase Sankara explains is – madira ('wine') as applied to the eye (ikshana), - eye as equivalent to 'beautiful', madirekhshane means the one whose eyes intoxicate like wine or is the wine-eyed.[4]

Ikshana is a technical term used in Vedanta to show how creation took place by the beholding of Para-brahman as an intelligent and a personal act of the creator; it means revelation of the created.[5] Parabrahman is essentially citta who produces his self as Shabda Brahman (Logos) by ikshana ('beholding').[6]

"From the mention as the object of the act of seeing, it follows that the supreme Self is meant."

Adi Shankara, in his commentary on this sutra, states that the object of ikshana ('seeing') is the supreme Self, Brahman, and not Hiranyagarbha, the inferior Brahman. He says that the term ikshati-karma means the object covered by the act of seeing. The all-pervading entity (Purusa) that is to be seen can be seen to be "higher than the high one" meditated.[7]Pippalada tells Satyakama, son of Sibi, that he by the Sama hymns is elevated to the Brahmaloka, he from this jivanghata ('the Macrocosmic Soul') beholds the supreme Being – एतस्माज्जीवघ्नात्परात्परं पुरिशयं पुरुषुमीक्षति - Prashna Upanishad V.5.[8]

The statement – uho nama vi-tarkoktih pra-vicharekshanatmakah, the terms Vitarka and Tarka are used interchangeably, tarka occurs after speech, mind and prana have been restrained immediately before Samadhi, vitarka consists of advanced thought and observation (ikshana); it is through discernment (uha) that one leaves the lower plane of savikalpa and gets uplifted.[9]

The Vedic concept of tapas and the Upanishadic concept of ikshana to the effect that consciousness and force are ultimately the same and every will has an aspect of force, helped Sri Aurobindo to conclude that the fact is only a partial reflection of the Idea which has created it and that it is the idea which expresses itself in matter and takes to itself bodies, and formulate the 'Theory of ideas as forces'.[10]

It was through ekacittekshana-samyukta-prajna the supreme perfect knowledge was realized (abhisambodha) by Gautama Buddha, that converted Boddhisattva to Buddha; ekacittekshana refers to Prajna exercised in unison with 'one-thought-viewing' when there is no separation between 'knower' and the 'known', all are viewed in one thought and enlightenment is the outcome.[11]

1.
Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents

2.
Samkhya
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Samkhya or Sankhya is one of the six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy. It is most related to the Yoga school of Hinduism, Sāmkhya is an enumerationist philosophy whose epistemology accepts three of six pramanas as the only reliable means of gaining knowledge. These include pratyakṣa, anumāṇa and śabda, sometimes described as one of the rationalist school of Indian philosophy, this ancient schools reliance on reason was neither exclusive nor strong. Sāmkhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities, puruṣa and prakṛti, Jiva is that state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakṛti in some form. This fusion, state the Samkhya scholars, led to the emergence of buddhi, during the state of imbalance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a form of bondage, particularly of the mind. The end of this imbalance, bondage is called liberation, or kaivalya, the existence of God or supreme being is not directly asserted, nor considered relevant by the Samkhya philosophers. Sāṃkhya denies the final cause of Ishvara, while the Samkhya school considers the Vedas as a reliable source of knowledge, it is an atheistic philosophy according to Paul Deussen and other scholars. A key difference between Samkhya and Yoga schools, state scholars, is that Yoga school accepts a personal, yet essentially inactive, Samkhya is known for its theory of guṇas. Everything, all forms and human beings, state Samkhya scholars, have these three guṇas, but in different proportions. The interplay of these guṇas defines the character of someone or something, of nature, the Samkhya theory of guṇas was widely discussed, developed and refined by various schools of Indian philosophies, including Buddhism. Samkhyas philosophical treatises also influenced the development of theories of Hindu ethics. In the context of ancient Indian philosophies, Samkhya refers to the school in Hinduism based on systematic enumeration. The word samkhya means empirical or relating to numbers, some 19th and 20th century scholars suggested that Samkhya may have non-Vedic origins. For the Sankhya philosophy is, in its essence, not only atheistic, dandekar, similarly wrote in 1968, The origin of the Sankhya is to be traced to the pre-Vedic non-Aryan thought complex. Some scholars disagreed with this view, here – in Kaushitaki Upanishad and Chandogya Upanishad – the germ are to be found two of the main ideas of classical Samkhya. More recent scholarship offers another perspective, Ruzsa in 2006, for example, states, Sāṅkhya has a very long history. Its roots go deeper than textual traditions allow us to see, the ancient Buddhist Aśvaghoṣa describes Arāḍa Kālāma, the teacher of the young Buddha as following an archaic form of Sāṅkhya. Anthony Warder in 2009, summarizes that Samkhya and Mīmāṃsā schools appear to have been established before Sramana traditions in India, speculations in the direction of the Samkhya can be found in the early Upanishads

3.
Yoga (philosophy)
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Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism. Ancient, medieval and most modern literature often refers to the Yoga school of Hinduism simply as Yoga and it is closely related to the Samkhya school of Hinduism. The Yoga schools systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all schools of Indian philosophy. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a key text of the Yoga school of Hinduism, the epistemology of the Yoga school of Hinduism, like the Sāmkhya school, relies on three of six Pramanas as the means of gaining reliable knowledge. These include Pratyakṣa, Anumāṇa and Sabda, the metaphysics of Yoga is built on the same dualist foundation as the Samkhya school. The universe is conceptualized as composed of two realities in the Samhkya-Yoga schools, Puruṣa and prakriti, jiva is considered as a state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakriti in some form, in various permutations and combinations of various elements, senses, feelings, activity and mind. During the state of imbalance or ignorance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, the end of this bondage is called liberation, or moksha, by both the Yoga and Samkhya schools of Hinduism. The ethical theory of the Yoga school is based on Yamas and Niyama, the Yoga school of Hinduism differs from the closely related non-theistic/atheistic Samkhya school by incorporating the concept of a personal, yet essentially inactive, deity or personal god. Advaita Vedanta, and other schools of Hinduism, accept, adopt and build many of the teachings. The origins of the Yoga school of Hinduism are unclear, some of its earliest discussions are found in 1st millennium BCE Indian texts such as the Katha Upanishad, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Maitri Upanishad. The root of Yoga is found in hymn 5.81.1 of the Rig Veda, युञ्जते मन उत युञ्जते धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically control their minds and their intelligence. Rigveda, however, does not describe Yoga philosophy with the meaning or context as in medieval or modern times. Early references to practices that became part of Yoga school of Hinduism, are made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Gavin Flood translates it as. having become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self, the practice of pranayama is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and the practice of pratyahara is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad. The Katha Upanishad, dated to be from about the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, in verses 2.6.6 through 2.6.13 recommends a path to Self-knowledge and it influenced and was influenced by other schools and Indian philosophies. Patanjalis Yoga Sutras may be a synthesis of these three traditions, the third concept that the Yoga Sutras synthesize into its philosophy is the ancient ascetic traditions of isolation, meditation and introspection. The systematic collection of ideas of the Yoga school of Hinduism is found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Yoga school of Hinduism has been included as one of the six orthodox schools in medieval era Indian texts. The other schools are Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy is most closely related to the Samkhya school

4.
Nyaya
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Nyāya, literally means rules, method or judgment. It is also the name of one of the six schools of Hinduism. This schools most significant contributions to Indian philosophy was systematic development of the theory of logic, methodology, Nyaya schools epistemology accepts four out of six Pramanas as reliable means of gaining knowledge – Pratyakṣa, Anumāṇa, Upamāṇa and Śabda. In its metaphysics, Nyaya school is closer to Vaisheshika school of Hinduism than others and it holds that human suffering results from mistakes/defects produced by activity under wrong knowledge. Moksha, it states, is gained through right knowledge and this premise led Nyaya to concern itself with epistemology, that is the reliable means to gain correct knowledge and to remove wrong notions. False knowledge is not merely ignorance to Naiyyayikas, it includes delusion, correct knowledge is discovering and overcoming ones delusions, and understanding true nature of soul, self and reality. Naiyyayika scholars approached philosophy as a form of realism, stating that anything that really exists is in principle humanly knowable. To them, correct knowledge and understanding is different than simple, reflexive cognition, an influential collection of texts on logic and reason is the Nyayasutras, attributed to Aksapada Gautama, variously estimated to have been composed between 6th-century BCE and 2nd-century CE. Nyaya is a Sanskrit word which means method, rule, specially a collection of general or universal rules, in some contexts, it means model, axiom, plan, legal proceeding, judicial sentence, or judgment. In the theory of logic, and Indian texts discussing it, in philosophical context, Nyaya encompasses propriety, logic and method. Nyaya is related to other concepts and words used in Indian philosophies, Hetu-vidya, Anviksiki, Pramana-sastra, Tattva-sastra, Tarka-vidya, Vadartha. Some of these subsume or deploy the tools of Nyaya, the historical development of Nyaya school is unclear, although Nasadiya hymns of Book 10 Chapter 129 of Rigveda recite its spiritual questions in logical propositions. In early centuries BCE, states Clooney, the early Nyaya scholars began compiling the science of rational, coherent inquiry, by 2nd century CE, Aksapada Gautama had composed Nyayasutras, a foundational text for Nyaya school, that primarily discusses logic, methodology and epistemology. The Nyaya scholars that followed refined it, expanded it, later Nyaya scholars, such as Udayana, examined various arguments on theism and attempted to prove existence of God. Other Nyaya scholars offered arguments to disprove the existence of God, the Nyaya metaphysics recognizes sixteen padarthas or categories and includes all six categories of the Vaisheshika in the second one of them, called prameya. These sixteen categories are pramāṇa, prameya, saṁśaya, prayojana, dṛṣṭānta, siddhānta, avayava, tarka, nirṇaya, vāda, jalpa, vitaṇḍā, hetvābhāsa, chala, jāti and nigrahasthāna. The Nyaya school of Hinduism developed and refined many treatises on epistemology that widely influenced other schools of Hinduism, Nyaya treated it as theory of knowledge, and its scholars developed it as Pramana-sastras. Pramana, a Sanskrit word, literally is means of knowledge and it encompasses one or more reliable and valid means by which human beings gain accurate, true knowledge

5.
Vedanta
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Vedanta or Uttara Mīmāṃsā is one of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. It represents the divergent philosophical views of more than 10 schools—all developed on the basis of a textual connection called the Prasthanatrayi. The Prasthanatrayi is a term for the Principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras. Vedanta does not stand for one comprehensive or unifying doctrine, over time, Vedanta adopted ideas from other orthodox schools like Yoga and Nyaya, and, through this syncretism, became the most prominent school of Hinduism. Many extant forms of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism have been shaped and influenced by the doctrines of different schools of Vedanta. The word Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas and originally referred to the Upanishads, Vedanta was concerned with the jñānakāṇḍa or Vedic knowledge part called the Upanishads. The denotation of Vedanta subsequently widened to include the philosophical traditions based on to the Prasthanatrayi. The Upanishads may be regarded as the end of Vedas in different senses and these mark the culmination of Vedic thought. These were taught and debated last, in the Brahmacharya stage, Vedanta is one of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. It is also called Uttara Mīmāṃsā, the latter enquiry or higher enquiry, and is contrasted with Pūrva Mīmāṃsā. Pūrva Mīmāṃsā deals with the karmakāṇḍa or rituals part in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita and the Brahma Sutras constitute the basis of Vedanta. All schools of Vedanta propound their philosophy by interpreting these texts, collectively called the Prasthanatrayi, literally, the Upanishads, or Śruti prasthāna, considered the Sruti foundation of Vedanta. The Brahma Sutras, or Nyaya prasthana / Yukti prasthana, considered the foundation of Vedanta. The Bhagavad Gita, or Smriti prasthāna, considered the Smriti foundation of Vedanta, the Brahma Sutras attempted to synthesize the teachings of the Upanishads. The diversity in the teaching of the Upanishads necessitated the systematization of these teachings and this was likely done in many ways in ancient India, but the only surviving version of this synthesis is the Brahma Sutras of Badarayana. The Bhagavad Gita, due to its syncretism of Samkhya, Yoga, the Upanishads do not present a rigorous philosophical inquiry in the form of identifying various doctrines and then presenting arguments for or against them. They form the basic texts and Vedanta interprets them through rigorous philosophical exegesis, varying interpretations of the Upanishads and their synthesis, the Brahma Sutras, led to the development of different schools of Vedanta over time of which three, four, five or six are prominent. Some scholars are inclined to consider it as a rather than a school of Vedanta

6.
Advaita Vedanta
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Advaita Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy and religious practice, and one of the classic Indian paths to spiritual realization. The term Advaita refers to its idea that the soul is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality, Advaita Vedanta traces its roots in the oldest Upanishads. It relies on three textual sources called the Prasthanatrayi and it gives a unifying interpretation of the whole body of Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita. Advaita Vedanta is the oldest extant sub-school of Vedanta, which is one of the six orthodox Hindu philosophies, though its roots trace back to the 1st millennium BCE, the most prominent exponent of the Advaita Vedanta is considered by the tradition to be 8th century scholar Adi Shankara. Advaita Vedanta emphasizes Jivanmukti, the idea that moksha is achievable in this life in contrast to Indian philosophies that emphasize Videhamukti, Advaita Vedanta is one of the most studied and most influential schools of classical Indian thought. Many scholars describe it as a form of monism, others describe the Advaita philosophy as non-dualistic, beyond Hinduism, Advaita Vedanta interacted and developed with the other traditions of India such as Jainism and Buddhism. Advaita Vedanta texts espouse a spectrum of views from idealism, including illusionism, in modern times, its views appear in various Neo-Vedanta movements. It has been termed as the example of Hindu spirituality. The Advaita Vedanta school has referred to historically by various names, such as Advaita-vada, Abheda-darshana, Dvaita-vada-pratisedha. According to Richard King, a professor of Buddhist and Asian studies, traditional Advaita Vedanta centers on the study of the sruti especially the Principal Upanishads, along with the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita. Within the Vedanta tradition of Hinduism are many sub-schools, of which Advaita is one, unlike Buddhism, but like Jainism, all Vedanta schools consider the existence of Atman as self evident. The Vedanta tradition also posits the concept of Brahman as the eternal, the sub-schools of Vedanta disagree on the relation between Atman and Brahman. The Advaita darsana considers them to be identical, Advaita Vedanta believes that the knowledge of ones true self or Atman is liberating. Correct knowledge, which destroys avidya, psychological and perceptual errors related to Atman and Brahman, is obtained through three stages of practice, sravana, manana and nididhyasana, the Vedanta tradition of Hinduism rejects the dualism of Samkhya. Advaita, like all Vedanta schools, states that Brahman is both the efficient and the cause, that from which the origination, subsistence. What created all existence is also present in and reflected in all beings and inert matter and this Brahman it postulates is sat-cit-ananda. Second, how did cit Brahman create material world, third, if ananda Brahman is pure bliss, why did the empirical world of sufferings arise. These are the questions that Advaita Vedanta thinkers have historically attempted to answer, Advaita establishes its truths, in part, from the oldest Principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and numerous other Hindu texts

7.
Vishishtadvaita
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Vishishtadvaita, the philosophy of the Sri Sampradaya, is one of the most popular schools of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas, primarily the word Vedanta stood for Upanishads, afterwords, its denotation widened to include all thoughts developed out of the Upanishads. VishishtAdvaita is a school of Vedanta philosophy. It is non-dualism of the whole, in which Brahman alone exists. It can be described as qualified monism or qualified non-dualism or attributive monism and it is a school of Vedanta philosophy which believes in all diversity subsuming to an underlying unity. Vedanta Desika defines Vishishtadvaita using the statement, Asesha Chit-Achit Prakaaram Brahmaikameva Tatvam, Brahman, the Vishishtadvaitic thought is considered to have existed for a long time, and it is surmised that the earliest works are no longer available. The names of the earliest of these philosophers is only known through Ramanujas Veda artha Sangraha, in the line of the philosophers considered to have expounded the VisishtAdvaitic system, the prominent ones are Bodhayana, Dramida, Tanka, Guhadeva, Kapardi and Bharuci. Besides these philosophers, Ramanujas teacher Yamunacharya is credited with laying the foundation for what culminates as the Sri Bhasya, Bodhayana is considered to have written an extensive vritti on the Purva and Uttara Mimamsas. Tanka is attributed with having written commentaries on Chandogya Upanishad and Brahma Sutras, nathamuni of the ninth century AD, the foremost Acharya of the Vaishnavas, collected the Tamil prabandhas, classified them, made the redaction, set the hymns to music and spread them everywhere. Ramanuja is the proponent of Vishishtadvaita philosophy. The philosophy itself is considered to have existed long before Ramanujas time, Ramanuja continues along the line of thought of his predecessors while expounding the knowledge expressed in the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita. Swaminarayan, the founder of Swaminarayan Hinduism, also propagated this philosophy, there are three key principles of Vishishtadvaita, Tattva, The knowledge of the 3 real entities namely, jiva, ajiva and Ishvara. Hita, The means of realization, as through bhakti and prapatti, purushartha, The goal to be attained, as moksha or liberation from bondage. Pramana refers to the knowledge, arrived at by thorough reasoning. Pramana forms one part of a triputi, perception refers to knowledge obtained by cognition of external objects based on sensory perception. In modern-day usage this will also include knowledge obtained by means of observation through scientific instruments since they are an extension of perception, anumana — the knowledge gained by means of inference. Inference refers to knowledge obtained by deductive reasoning and analysis, Shabda — the knowledge gained by means of shruti. Shruti refers to knowledge gained from scriptures - primarily the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, when an issue cannot be settled through sensory perception alone, it is settled based on inference, that is, whichever is the more logical argument

8.
Shuddhadvaita
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Vallabhacharyas pure form philosophy is different from Advaita. The Shrinathji temple at Nathdwara, and compositions of eight poets, though the tradition originated near Vrindavana in the current Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, in modern times followers of Shuddadvaita are concentrated in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. In the ancient Vedic tradition of knowledge and comprehension of reality, vedas primarily contain references to the adwait nature of Brahm. However, depending on how a scholar perceives those verses, s/he might see duality— dwait aspect as well and he won the title of acharya by traveling and debating advaita scholars from a young age. In 1493-94 Vallabhacharya is said to have identified an image of Krishna at the Govardhan hill at Braj and this image, now called Shrinathji and located at Nathdwara, Rajasthan, is central to the worship by Vallabha followers. According to Vallabha tradition, one night in 1494, Vallabhacharya received the Brahmasambandha mantra from Krishna himself at Gokula. The eight-syllable mantra, śri kṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṃ mama, is passed onto new initiates in Vallabh sampradaya, the school of in-essence monism or purified non-dualism of Vallabha sees equality in essence of the individual self with God. There is no difference between the two. However, unlike Shankaras Advaita, Vallabha does not deny God as the whole, the individual soul is not the Supreme clouded by the force of avidya, but is itself Brahman, with one attribute rendered imperceptible. The soul is both a doer and enjoyer and it is atomic in size, but pervades the whole body through its essence of intelligence. Unlike Advaita, the world of Maya is not regarded as unreal and he is not only the creator of the universe but is the universe itself. Vallabha cites the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad account, that Brahman desired to become many, and he became the multitude of individual souls, although Brahman is not known, He is known when He manifests Himself through the world. Bhakti is the means of salvation, though Jnana is also useful, karmas precede knowledge of the Supreme, and are present even when this knowledge is gained. The highest goal is not Mukti or liberation, but rather eternal service of Krishna, Vallabha distinguishes the transcendent consciousness of Brahman as Purushottama. Vallabha lays a great stress on a life of unqualified love, in all the philosophical traditions, it is common practice to describe how the Supreme Entity Brahm is related to us and our surroundings. In the system of Suddhadwait Vedant, otherwise known as Brahmvaad, every other thing has proceeded from it at the time of creation, is non-different from it during creation and merges into it at the time of dissolution. The two other well known categories namely the animate souls and the objects are respectively its parts. The animate souls are its parts because they retain to some extent the essential qualities thereof namely consciousness, the inanimate objects are its modification because the above said qualities are absent therein

9.
Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha

10.
Jainism
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Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is an ancient Indian religion belonging to the śramaṇa tradition. The central tenet is non-violence and respect all living beings. The three main principles of Jainism are ahimsa, anekantavada and aparigraha, followers of Jainism take five main vows, ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha. Jain monks and nuns observe these vows absolutely whereas householders observe them within their practical limitations, self-discipline and asceticism are thus major focuses of Jainism. The word Jain derives from the Sanskrit word jina, a human being who has conquered all inner passions like attachment, desire, anger, pride, greed, etc. is called Jina. Followers of the path practiced and preached by the jinas are known as Jains, Parasparopagraho Jivanam is the motto of Jainism. Jains trace their history through a succession of teachers and revivers of the Jain path known as Tirthankaras. In the current era, this started with Rishabhdeva and concluded with Mahavira, Jains believe that Jainism is eternal and while it may be forgotten, it will be revived from time to time. With 6-7 million followers, the majority of Jains reside in India, outside of India, some of the largest Jain communities are present in Canada, Europe, Kenya, the UK, Suriname, Fiji, and the United States. Contemporary Jainism is divided into two sects, Digambara and Śvētāmbara. Namokar Mantra is the most common and basic prayer in Jainism, major Jain festivals include Paryushana and Daslakshana, Mahavir Jayanti, and Diwali. The principle of ahimsa is the most fundamental and well-known aspect of Jainism, the everyday implementation of the principle of non-violence is more comprehensive than in other religions and is the hallmark for Jain identity. Jains believe in avoiding harm to others thoughts, speech. According to the Jain text, Purushartha Siddhyupaya, killing any living being out of passions is hiṃsā, Jains extend the practice of nonviolence and kindness not only towards other humans but towards all living beings. For this reason, vegetarianism is a hallmark of Jain identity, if there is violence against animals during the production of dairy products, veganism is encouraged. Jainism has an elaborate framework on types of life and includes life-forms that may be invisible. Therefore, after humans and animals, insects are the living being offered protection in Jain practice. For example, insects in the home are often escorted out instead of killed, Jainism teaches that intentional harm and the absence of compassion make an action more violent

11.
Vaishnavism
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Vaishnavism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism, its followers are called Vaishnavas, the tradition is notable for its avatar doctrine, wherein Vishnu is revered in one of many distinct incarnations. Of these, ten avatars of Vishnu are the most studied, Krishna, Rama, Narayana, Vāsudeva, Hari, Vithoba, Kesava, Madhava, Govinda and Jagannath are among the popular names used for the same supreme. The tradition has traceable roots to the 1st millennium BCE, as Bhagavatism, later developments led by Ramananda created a Rama-oriented movement, now the largest monastic group in Asia. The Vaishnava tradition has many sampradayas ranging from the medieval era Dvaita school of Madhvacharya to Vishishtadvaita school of Ramanuja, new Vaishnavism movements have been founded in the modern era such as the ISKCON of Prabhupada. The tradition is known for the devotion to an avatar of Vishnu. Key texts in Vaishnavism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Pancaratra texts, Krishnaism becomes associated with bhakti yoga in the medieval period. Although Vishnu was a Vedic solar deity, he is mentioned less often compared to Agni, Indra and other Vedic deities, other scholars state that there are other Vedic deities, such as water deity Nara, who together form the historical roots of Vaishnavism. The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, the evidence inconsistent, according to Dalal, the origins may be in Vedic deity Bhaga, who gave rise to Bhagavatism. According to Preciado-Solís, the Vedic deities Nara and Narayana form one of the Vedic roots of Vaishnavism, according to Dandekar, Vaishnavism may have emerged from merger of several ancient theistic traditions, where the various deities were integrated as different avatars of the same god. In Dandekar theory, Vaishnavism emerged at the end of the Vedic period, closely before the urbanisation of northern India. This earliest phase was established the time of Pāṇini who, in his Astadhyayi and this was followed by a merger with the cult of Gopala-Krsna of the cowherd community of the Abhıras at the 4th century CE. The character of Gopala Krishna is often considered to be non-Vedic, according to Dandekar, such mergers consolidated the position of Krishnaism between the heterodox sramana movement and the orthodox Vedic religion. The Greater Krsnaism, states Dandekar, then merged with the Rigvedic Vishnu, syncretism of various traditions and Vedism resulted in Vaishnavism. At this stage that Vishnu of the Rig Veda was assimilated into non-Vedic Krishnaism, the appearance of Krishna as one of the Avatars of Vishnu dates to the period of the Sanskrit epics in the early centuries CE. The Bhagavad Gita was incorporated into the Mahabharata as a key text for Krishnaism, finally, the Narayana-cult was also included, which further brahmanized Vaishnavism. The Nara-Narayana cult may have originated in Badari, a ridge of the Hindu Kush. Purusa Narayana may have later turned into Arjuna and Krsna

12.
Smarta tradition
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Smarta tradition is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. This Puranic religion is notable for the worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal – Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Surya. The Smarta tradition contrasted with the older Shrauta tradition, which was based on elaborate rituals, there has been considerable overlap in the ideas and practices of the Smarta tradition with other significant historic movements within Hinduism, namely Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism. The Smarta tradition developed during Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, the Smarta tradition is aligned with Advaita Vedanta, and regards Adi Shankara as its founder or reformer. Shankara championed the ultimate reality is impersonal and Nirguna and any symbolic god serves the same equivalent purpose, inspired by this belief, the Smarta tradition followers, along with the five Hindu gods include a sixth impersonal god in their practice. The tradition has been called by William Jackson as advaitin, monistic in its outlook, the term also refers to Brahmins who specialize in the Smriti corpus of texts named the Grihya Sutras, in contrast to Shrauta Sutras. Smarta Brahmins with their focus on the Smriti corpus, contrast from Srauta Brahmins who specialize in the Sruti corpus, Smarta is an adjective derived from Smriti. Smarta is specially associated with a founded by Shankaracharya, states Monier Williams. The Vedanga texts include the Kalpa texts consisting of the Srautasutras, Grihyasutras and Dharmasutras, the Grihyasutras and Dharmasutras, states Hiltebeitel, were composed between 600 BCE and 400 CE, and these are sometimes called the Smartasutras, the roots of the Smriti tradition. The Smriti texts accept the knowledge in the Sruti, but they interpret it in a number of ways, of the two Smarta traditions, Mimamsa focussed on Vedic ritual traditions, while Vedanta focussed on Upanishadic knowledge tradition. The revived Smarta Tradition attempted to integrate varied and conflicting devotional practices, the growth of this Smarta Tradition began in the Gupta period, and likely was dominated by Dvija classes, in particular the Brahmins, of the early medieval Indian society. This Smarta Tradition competed with other traditions of Hinduism such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism. Medieval era scholars such as Vedanta Desika and Vallabhacharya recognized Smarta Tradition as competing with Vaishnavism, the adjective Smārta is also used to classify a Brahmin who adheres to the Smriti corpus of texts. Smarta Brahmins specialize in the Smriti corpus of texts, are differentiated from Srauta Brahmins who specialize in the Sruti corpus of such as the Brahmanas layer embedded inside the Vedas. Smarta Brahmins are also differentiated from Brahmins who specialize in the Agamic literature such as the Adi Shaiva Brahmins, Sri Vaishnava Brahmins, however, these identities are not clearly defined, and active groups such as Agamic Smarta Saiva Brahmins have thrived. According to Smartism, supreme reality, Brahman, transcends all of the forms of personal deity. The Smartas follow an orthodox Hindu philosophy, which means they accept the Vedas, the Smarta Tradition accepts two concepts of Brahman, which are the saguna Brahman – the Brahman with attributes, and nirguna Brahman – the Brahman without attributes. The nirguna Brahman is the unchanging Reality, however, the saguna Brahman is posited as a means to realizing this nirguna Brahman, the Smartas evolved a kind of worship which is known as Panchayatana puja

13.
Shaktism
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Shaktism is a major tradition of Hinduism, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered feminine and the Devi is supreme. It includes a variety of goddesses, all considered aspects of the supreme goddess. Shaktism has different sub-traditions, ranging from those focussed on gracious Lakshmi to fierce Kali, the Sruti and Smriti texts of Hinduism are an important historical framework of the Shaktism tradition. In addition, it reveres the texts Devi Mahatmya, the Devi-Bhagavata Purana, the Devi Mahatmya in particular, is considered in Shaktism to be as important as the Bhagavad Gita. Shaktism is known for its various sub-traditions of Tantra, as well as a galaxy of goddesses with respective systems and it consists of the Vidyapitha and Kulamārga. The pantheon of goddesses in Shaktism grew after the decline of Buddhism in India, wherein Hindu and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form the Mahavidya, the most common aspects of Devi found in Shaktism include Durga, Kali, Amba, Lakshmi, Parvati and Tripurasundari. The goddess-focussed tradition is popular in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Nepal and the neighboring regions. Yet, they are declared equivalent aspects of gender neutral Brahman, of Prajapati, the goddesses often mentioned in the Vedic layers of text include the Ushas, Vac, Sarasvati, Prithivi, Nirriti, Shraddha. Goddesses such as Uma appear in the Upanishads as another aspect of Brahman, hymns to goddesses are in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata, particularly in the later added Harivamsa section of it. The archaeological and textual evidence implies, states Thomas Coburn, that the Goddess had become as much a part of the Hindu tradition, as God, by about the third or fourth century. The literature on Shakti theology grew in ancient India, climaxing in one of the most important texts of Shaktism called the Devi Mahatmya, the Devi-Mahatmya is not the earliest literary fragment attesting to the existence of devotion to a goddess figure, states Thomas B. Coburn – a professor of Religious Studies, but it is surely the earliest in which the object of worship is conceptualized as Goddess, with a capital G. Other important texts of Shaktism include the Shakta Upanishads, as well as Shakta-oriented Upa Puranic literature such as the Devi Purana and Kalika Purana, the Lalita Sahasranama. The Tripura Upanishad is historically the most complete introduction to Shakta Tantrism, along with the Tripura Upanishad, the Tripuratapini Upanishad has attracted scholarly bhasya in the second half of 2nd-millennium, such as by Bhaskararaya, and by Ramanand. These texts link the Shakti Tantra tradition as a Vedic attribute, Shaktas conceive the Goddess as the supreme, ultimate, eternal reality of all existence, or same as the Brahman concept of Hinduism. She is considered to be simultaneously the source of all creation, its embodiment and the energy that animates and governs it, according to V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar – a professor of Indian history, in Shaktism theology Brahman is static Shakti and Shakti is dynamic Brahman. Shaktism views the Devi as the source, essence and substance of everything in creation and its texts such as the Devi-Bhagavata Purana states, I am Manifest Divinity, Unmanifest Divinity, and Transcendent Divinity. I am Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as Saraswati, Lakshmi, I am the Sun and I am the Stars, and I am also the Moon

14.
Shaivism
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Shaivism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism that reveres Shiva as the Supreme Being or its metaphysical concept of Brahman. The followers of Shaivism are called Shaivas or Saivas, like much of Hinduism, the Shaiva have many sub-traditions, ranging from devotional dualistic theism such as Shaiva Siddhanta to yoga-oriented monistic non-theism such as Kashmiri Shaivism. It considers both the Vedas and the Agama texts as important sources of theology, Shaivism has ancient roots, traceable in the Vedic literature of 2nd millennium BCE, but this is in the form of the Vedic deity Rudra. In the early centuries of the era is the first clear evidence of Pāśupata Shaivism. Both devotional and monistic Shaivism became popular in the 1st millennium CE and it arrived in Southeast Asia shortly thereafter, leading to thousands of Shaiva temples on the islands of Indonesia as well as Cambodia and Vietnam, co-evolving with Buddhism in these regions. In the contemporary era, Shaivism is one of the aspects of Hinduism. Shaivism theology ranges from Shiva being the creator, preserver, destroyer to being the same as the Atman within oneself and it is closely related to Shaktism, and some Shaiva worship in Shiva and Shakti temples. It is the Hindu tradition that most accepts ascetic life and emphasizes yoga, Shaivism is one of the largest traditions within Hinduism. Shiva literally means kind, friendly, gracious, or auspicious, as a proper name, it means The Auspicious One. The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda, as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, the term Shiva also connotes liberation, final emancipation and the auspicious one, this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics, the Sanskrit word śaiva or Shaiva means relating to the god Shiva, while the related beliefs, practices, history, literature and sub-traditions constitute Shaivism. The reverence for Shiva is one of the traditions, found widely across India, Sri Lanka. While Shiva is revered broadly, Hinduism itself is a complex religion, Shaivism is a major tradition within Hinduism, with a theology that is predominantly related to the Hindu god Shiva. Shaivism has many different sub-traditions with regional variations and differences in philosophy, Shaivism has a vast literature with different philosophical schools, ranging from nondualism, dualism, and mixed schools. The origins of Shaivism are unclear and a matter of debate among scholars, some trace the origins to the Indus Valley civilization, which reached its peak around 2500–2000 BCE. Archeological discoveries show seals that suggest a deity that appears like Shiva. Of these is the Pashupati seal, which scholars interpreted as someone seated in a meditating yoga pose surrounded by animals. This Pashupati seal has been interpreted by scholars as a prototype of Shiva

15.
Pashupata Shaivism
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Pashupata Shaivism is the oldest of the major Shaivite Hindu schools. The philosophy of the Pashupata sect was systematized by Lakulish in the 2nd century A. D, the main texts of the school are Gaṇakārikā, Pañchārtha bhāshyadipikā and Rāśikara-bhāshya. The date of foundation of the school is uncertain, however, the Pashupatas may have existed from the 1st century CE. Gavin Flood dates them to around the 2nd century CE and they are also referred to in the epic Mahabharata which is thought to have reached a final form by 4th century CE. The Pashupata movement was influential in South India in the period between the 7th and 14th century, but it no longer exists, Pashupata Shaivism was a devotional and ascetic movement. Pashu in Pashupati refers to the effect, the word designates that which is dependent on something ulterior, whereas, Pati means the cause, the word designates the Lord, who is the cause of the universe, the pati, or the ruler. To free themselves from worldy fetters Pashupatas are instructed to do a pashupata vrata, haradattacharya, in Gaṇakārikā, explains that a spiritual teacher is one who knows the eight pentads and the three functions. They recognize that those depending upon another and longing for independence not be emancipated because they still depend upon something other than themselves. According to Pashupatas, spirits possess the attributes of the Supreme Deity when they become liberated from the germ of every pain, in this system the cessation of pain is of two kinds, impersonal and personal. Impersonal consists of the cessation of all pains, whereas the personal consists of development of visual and active powers like swiftness of thought. The Lord is held to be the possessor of infinite, visual, Pañchārtha bhāshyadipikā divides the created world into the insentient and the sentient. The insentient is unconscious and thus dependent on the conscious, the insentient is further divided into effects and causes. The effects are of ten kinds, the earth, four elements and their qualities, the causes are of thirteen kinds, the five organs of cognition, the five organs of action, the three internal organs, intellect, the ego principle and the cognising principle. These insentient causes are responsible for the illusive identification of Self with non-Self. The sentient spirit, which is subject to transmigration is of two kinds, the appetent and nonappetent, the appetent is the spirit associated with an organism and sense organs, whereas the non-appetent is the spirit without them. Union in the Pashupata system is a conjunction of the soul with God through the intellect and it is achieved in two ways, action and cessation of action. Union through action consists of pious muttering, meditation etc. cessation of suffering in other systems like Sankhya occurs through the mere termination of miseries, but in Pashupata school it is the attainment of supremacy or of divine perfections. In other philosophies, the world is that which has come into existence

16.
Shaiva Siddhanta
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Saiva siddhānta, provides the normative rites, cosmology and theological categories of Agamic and Vedic Shaivam combined. Being a dualistic philosophy, the goal of Shaiva Siddhanta is to become a soul through Lord Sivas Grace. This tradition was once practiced all over India, however the Muslim subjugation of North India restricted Shaiva Siddhanta to the south, where it merged with the Tamil Saiva movement expressed in the bhakti poetry of the Nayanars. It is in historical context that Shaiva Siddhanta is commonly considered a southern tradition. The Tamil compendium of songs known as Tirumurai, the Shaiva Agamas and Meykanda or Siddhanta Shastras. Shaiva Siddhanta encompasses tens of millions of adherents, predominantly in Tamil Nadu, the name of the school could be translated as the settled view of Shaiva doctrine or perfected Shaivism. Saiva Siddhantas original form is uncertain, some hold that it originated as a monistic doctrine, espoused by Tirumular. Such a notion of liberatory initiation appears to have borrowed from a Pashupata tradition. At the time of the development of the theology of the school, the question of monism or dualism. From the fifth to the eighth CE Buddhism and Jainism had spread in Tamil Nadu before a forceful Shaiva bhakti movement arose, between the seventh and ninth centuries, pilgrim saints such as Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar used songs of Shiva’s greatness to refute concepts of Buddhism and Jainism. Manikkavacakars heart-melting verses, called Tiruvacakam, are full of visionary experience, divine love, the Bhakti movement should not be exaggerated as an articulation of a class struggle, there is nevertheless a strong sense against rigis structures in the society. In the twelfth century Aghorasiva, the head of a monastery of the Amardaka order in Chidambaram, took up the task of amalgamating Sanskrit. Aghorasiva was successful in preserving the Sanskrit rituals of the ancient Āgamic tradition, to this day, Aghorasiva’s Siddhanta philosophy is followed by almost all of the hereditary temple priests, and his texts on the Āgamas have become the standard puja manuals. His Kriyakramadyotika is a vast work covering all aspects of Shaiva Siddhanta ritual, including the daily worship of Siva, occasional rituals, initiation rites, funerary rites. In Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, the thirteenth century Meykandar, Arulnandi Sivacharya, Siva is an efficient but not material cause. They view the soul’s merging in Siva as salt in water, Saiva Siddhanta today is practiced widely among the Hindus of southern India and Sri Lanka, especially by members of the Vellalar community. It is also prevalent among Hindus of the Tamil diaspora around the world, prominent Siddhanta societies, temples and monasteries also exist in a number of other countries. The United States island of Kauai, a part of Hawaii, is home to the Saiva Siddhanta Church and this was founded by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, which is currently under the auspices of Subramuniyaswamis designated successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami

17.
Tantra
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Tantra is the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that co-developed most likely about the middle of 1st millennium CE. The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable text, theory, system, method, instrument, in Hinduism, the tantra tradition is most often associated with its goddess tradition called Shaktism, followed by Shaivism and Vaishnavism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana tradition is known for its extensive tantra ideas, Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions have influenced other religious traditions such as Jainism, Sikhism, the Tibetan Bön tradition, Daoism, and the Japanese Shintō tradition. Tantra as genre of literature in Hinduism have been influential to its arts, icons, Hindu puja, temples and iconography are tantric in nature. The Hindu texts that describe these topics are called Tantras, Āgamas or Samhitās, in Buddhism, its tantra-genre literature has influenced the artworks in Tibet, historic cave temples of India, and imagery in southeast Asia. Tantra literally means loom, warp, weave, the connotation of the word tantra to mean an esoteric practice or religious ritualism is a colonial era European invention. The term is based on the metaphor of weaving, states Ron Barrett and it implies interweaving of traditions and teachings as threads into a text, technique or practice. The word appears in the hymns of the Rigveda such as in 10.71 and it is found in many other Vedic era texts, such as in section 10.7.42 of the Atharvaveda and many Brahmanas. In these and post-Vedic texts, the meaning of Tantra is that which is principal or essential part, main point, model, framework. The term “Tantra” after about 500 BCE, in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism is a bibliographic category, the same Buddhist texts are sometimes referred to as tantra or sutra, for example, Vairocabhisambodhi-tantra is also referred to as Vairocabhisambodhi-sutra. The various contextual meaning of the word Tantra varies with the Indian text, the earliest definitions and expositions on Tantra come from the ancient texts of Panini, Patanjali and the literature of the language-focussed, ritual-oriented Mimamsa school of Hindu philosophy. The word tantra, states Patanjali, means principal, main, Patanjali also offers a semantic definition of Tantra, stating that it is structural rules, standard procedures, centralized guide or knowledge in any field that applies to many elements. The ancient Mimamsa school of Hinduism uses the term tantra extensively, for example, When an action or a thing, once complete, becomes beneficial in several matters to one person, or to many people, that is known as Tantra. For example, a lamp placed amidst many priests, in contrast, that which benefits by its repetition is called Āvāpa, such as massaging with oil. Medieval texts present their own definitions of Tantra, in modern era scholarship, Tantra has been studied as an esoteric practice and ritualistic religion, sometimes referred to as Tantrism. There is wide gap between what Tantra means to its followers, and what Tantra has been represented or perceived as since colonial era writers began commenting on Tantra, many definitions of Tantra have been proposed ever since, and there is no universally accepted definition of Tantra. André Padoux in his review of Tantra definitions offers two, then rejects both, another definition, more common among observers and non-practitioners, is some set of mechanistic rituals, omitting entirely the ideological side. According to David N. Lorenzen, two different kinds of definitions of Tantra exist, a definition and a broad definition

18.
Jaimini
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Jaimini was an ancient Indian scholar who founded the Mimansa school of Hindu philosophy. He is traditionally attributed to be the author of the Mimamsa Sutras text and he is estimated to have lived around the 4th-century BCE. His school is considered non-theistic, but one that emphasized rituals parts of the Vedas as essential to Dharma, jaiminis guru was Badarayana, the latter founded the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, emphasizing the knowledge parts of the Vedas, and credited with authoring Brahma Sutras. Jaimini is most known for his great treatise Purva Mimamsa Sutras, also called Karma-mimamsa, the text founded the Purva-Mimamsa school of Ancient Indian philosophy, one of the six Darsanas or schools of Ancient Indian philosophy. Dated to ca. the 4th century BCE, the text contains about 3,000 sutras and is the text of the Mimamsa school. The text aims at an exegesis of the Vedas with regard to practice and religious duty. Jaiminis Mimamsa is a ritualist counter-movement to the Self-knowledge speculations of the Vedanta philosophy and his Mimamsa Sutra was commented upon by many, of which Śābara was among the earliest. He divided the Veda into four, namely Rig, Yajur, Sama, the histories and the Puranas are said to be the fifth Veda. - Brahmanda Purana 1.4.21 One of the major Puranas, samaveda Guru Purnima Indian Mathematics Purva Mimansa homepage

19.
Gaudapada
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Gauḍapāda, also referred as Gauḍapādacharya, was an early medieval era scholar of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details of his biography are uncertain, his ideas inspired others such as Adi Shankara who called him a Paramaguru, Gaudapada was the author or compiler of the Māṇḍukya Kārikā, also known as Gaudapada Karika. The text consists of four chapters, of which Chapter Four uses Buddhist terminology thereby showing it was influenced by Buddhism, however, doctrinally Gaudapadas work is Vedantin, and not Buddhist. The first three chapters of Gaudapadas text have been influential in the Advaita Vedanta tradition, the century in which Gaudapada lived and his life details are uncertain. Estimates vary from early 6th to 7th century CE and he is generally dated from estimates for Adi Shankara, whose teacher Govinda Bhagavatpada is presumed to be the direct disciple of Gaudapada. Shankara in some texts, refers to Gaudapada as the teacher who knows the tradition of the Vedānta. Assuming how long each lived and when, Gaudapada is estimated to have lived sometime in the 7th century CE, alternatively, states Potter, the phrase teachers teacher should not be taken literally, and more in the sense of another phrase he uses for Gaudapada, namely Paramaguru. He may have been the guru of Sankaras teacher, but was likely a more distant guru, another estimate places him around the early 6th century. This estimate is based on Buddhist literature, and particularly those of scholars Bhavaviveka, Santaraksita, Bhavaviveka was a contemporary of Dharmapala, states Karl Potter, while Chinese texts and travel accounts place Dharmapala in the mid 6th century CE. Assuming the Buddhist and Chinese records are reliable, and for Bhavaviveka to have quoted Gauḍapada kārikās, Gaudapada must have lived around 500 CE, or sometime in the first half of 6th century CE. But, it is certain that Gaudapada lived after the 4th century because he cites some Buddhist views of Nāgārjuna and Asanga, Gaudapada wrote or compiled the Māṇḍukya Kārikā, also known as the Gauḍapāda Kārikā and as the Āgama Śāstra. Some scholars, states Karl Potter, doubt that Gaudapada Karika was written by one author, the Māṇḍukya Kārikā is a concise explanation, in verse form, of the doctrines in Mandukya Upanishad, one of the shortest but a profound Upanishad, consisting of just 12 sentences. Even before the time of Adi Shankara, Mandukya Upanishad was considered to be a Śruti, in later periods it acquired a higher value, and expressing the Upanishadic essence. Gaudapadas text, adds Nakamura, was treasured but not considered a Sruti by Advaita scholars, while Ramanuja, most of Chapter Three of the compilation of Gaudapada Karika was complete by 400–500 CE, states Nakamura. He estimates that most of Chapter One was complete by 300–400 CE, while Chapter Two which presupposes Chapter One can be dated to have been complete after Chapter One. Most of the Chapter Four was written sometime between 400 and 600 CE, the Self resides in ones body in three forms, waking state, sleeping dreamy state and in deep sleep state, according to Potters translation. The description of these states of self are similar, states Arvind Sharma, to found in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Gaudapada presents the traditional theories about life in vogue, before and in his times

20.
Adi Shankara
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Adi Shankara was a philosopher and theologian from India who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. He is credited with unifying and establishing the main currents of thought in Hinduism and his works in Sanskrit discuss the unity of the ātman and Nirguna Brahman brahman without attributes. He wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon in support of his thesis and his works elaborate on ideas found in the Upanishads. Shankaras publications criticised the ritually-oriented Mīmāṃsā school of Hinduism and he also explained the key difference between Hinduism and Buddhism, stating that Hinduism asserts Atman exists, while Buddhism asserts that there is no Soul, no Self. Shankara travelled across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers and he established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mīmāṃsā school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. He is reputed to have founded four mathas, which helped in the development, revival. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organiser of the Dashanami monastic order and he is also known as Adi Shankaracharya, Shankara Bhagavatpada, sometimes spelled as Sankaracharya, Śaṅkarācārya, Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda and Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya. There are at least fourteen different known biographies of Adi Shankaras life, many of these are called the Śankara Vijaya, while some are called Guruvijaya, Sankarabhyudaya and Shankaracaryacarita. Of these, the Brhat-Sankara-Vijaya by Citsukha is the oldest hagiography but only available in excerpts, other significant biographies are the Mādhavīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ, the Cidvilāsīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ, and the Keraļīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ. Some biographies are probably forgeries by those who sought to create a basis for their rituals or theories. Adi Shankara died in the thirty third year of his life, the Sringeri records state that Shankara was born in the 14th year of the reign of VikramAditya, but it is unclear as to which king this name refers. This conforms to the chronology calculated based off the Hindu Puranas, 44–12 BCE, the commentator Anandagiri believed he was born at Chidambaram in 44 BCE and died in 12 BCE. 6th century CE, Telang placed him in this century, sir R. G. Bhandarkar believed he was born in 680 CE. 788–820 CE, This was proposed by early 20th scholars and was accepted by scholars such as Max Müller, Macdonnel, Pathok, Deussen and Radhakrishna. The date 788–820 is also among those considered acceptable by Swami Tapasyananda, sometime between 700-750 CE, late 20th-century scholarship has questioned the 788-820 CE dates, placing Adi Shankaras life of 32 years in the first half of the 8th century. The popularly accepted dating places Adi Shankara to be a scholar from the first half of the 8th century CE and his father died while Shankara was very young. Shankaras upanayanam, the initiation into student-life, had to be delayed due to the death of his father, Shankaras hagiography describe him as someone who was attracted to the life of Sannyasa from early childhood. A story, found in all hagiographies, describe Shankara at age eight going to a river with his mother, Sivataraka, to bathe, Shankara called out to his mother to give him permission to become a Sannyasin or else the crocodile will kill him

21.
Ramakrishna
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Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Ramkṛiṣṇo Pôromôhongśo,17 February 1836 –16 August 1886), born Gadadhar Chatterjee or Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, was an Indian mystic and yogi during the 19th-century. Admiration for him amongst Bengali elites led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda. Ramakrishna was born on 17 February 1836, in the village of Kamarpukur, in the Hoogli district of West Bengal, into a poor, pious. Kamarpukur was untouched by the glamour of the city and contained rice fields, tall palms, royal banyans, a few lakes and his parents were Khudiram Chattopadhyay and Chandramani Devi. According to his followers, Ramakrishnas parents experienced supernatural incidents and visions before his birth, in Gaya his father Khudiram had a dream in which Lord Gadadhara, said that he would be born as his son. Chandramani Devi is said to have had a vision of light entering her womb from Shivas temple, although Ramakrishna attended a village school with some regularity for 12 years, he later rejected the traditional schooling saying that he was not interested in a bread-winning education. Kamarpukur, being a transit-point in well-established pilgrimage routes to Puri, brought him contact with renunciates. He could read and write in Bengali, Ramakrishna describes his first spiritual ecstasy at the age of six, while walking along the paddy fields, a flock of white cranes flying against a backdrop of dark thunder clouds caught his vision. He reportedly became so absorbed by this scene that he lost outward consciousness, Ramakrishna reportedly had experiences of similar nature a few other times in his childhood—while worshipping the goddess Vishalakshi, and portraying god Shiva in a drama during Shivaratri festival. From his 10th or 11th year on, the trances became common, early on, these experiences have been interpreted as epileptic seizures, an interpretation which was rejected by Ramakrishna himself. Ramakrishnas father died in 1843, after which family responsibilities fell on his elder brother Ramkumar, when Ramakrishna was in his teens, the familys financial position worsened. Ramkumar started a Sanskrit school in Calcutta and also served as a priest, Ramakrishna moved to Calcutta in 1852 with Ramkumar to assist in the priestly work. In 1855 Ramkumar was appointed as the priest of Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Ramakrishna, along with his nephew Hriday, became assistants to Ramkumar, with Ramakrishna given the task of decorating the deity. When Ramkumar died in 1856, Ramakrishna took his place as the priest of the Kali temple, after Ramkumars death Ramakrishna became more contemplative. He began to look upon the image of the goddess Kali as his mother, Ramakrishna reportedly had a vision of the goddess Kali as the universal Mother, which he described as. Houses, doors, temples and everything else vanished altogether, as if there was nothing anywhere, and what I saw was an infinite shoreless sea of light, a sea that was consciousness. However far and in whatever direction I looked, I saw shining waves, one after another, rumors spread to Kamarpukur that Ramakrishna had become unstable as a result of his spiritual practices at Dakshineswar. Ramakrishna himself mentioned that they could find the bride at the house of Ramchandra Mukherjee in Jayrambati, the five-year-old bride, Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya was found and the marriage was duly solemnised in 1859

22.
Swami Vivekananda
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Swami Vivekananda Bengali, Shāmi Bibekānondo,12 January 1863 –4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a force in the revival of Hinduism in India. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission and he is perhaps best known for his speech which began, Sisters and brothers of America. In which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the Worlds Religions in Chicago in 1893, born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his Guru, Ramakrishna Deva, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the self, therefore. After Ramakrishnas death, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent extensively and acquired knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British India. He later travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions, Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a saint and his birthday is celebrated there as National Youth Day. Vivekananda was born Narendranath Datta at his home at 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street in Calcutta. He belonged to a traditional Bengali Kayastha family and was one of nine siblings and his father, Vishwanath Datta, was an attorney at the Calcutta High Court. Durgacharan Datta, Narendras grandfather was a Sanskrit and Persian scholar who left his family and his mother, Bhubaneswari Devi, was a devout housewife. The progressive, rational attitude of Narendras father and the temperament of his mother helped shape his thinking. Narendranath was interested spiritually from an age, and used to meditate before the images of deities such as Shiva, Rama, Sita. He was fascinated by wandering ascetics and monks, naren was naughty and restless as a child, and his parents often had difficulty controlling him. His mother said, I prayed to Shiva for a son, in 1871, at the age of eight, Narendranath enrolled at Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagars Metropolitan Institution, where he went to school until his family moved to Raipur in 1877. In 1879, after his familys return to Calcutta, he was the student to receive first-division marks in the Presidency College entrance examination. He was a reader in a wide range of subjects, including philosophy, religion, history, social science, art. He was also interested in Hindu scriptures, including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, Narendra was trained in Indian classical music, and regularly participated in physical exercise, sports and organised activities

23.
Ramana Maharshi
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Ramana Maharshi /ˈrʌmənə məhʌˈrɪʃi/ was an Indian sage and jivanmukta. He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is most commonly known under the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and he was born in what is now Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India. This resulted in a state which he described as the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani. Six weeks later he left his uncles home in Madurai, and journeyed to the holy mountain Arunachala, Tiruvannamalai, where he took on the role of a sannyasin, since the 1930s his teachings have been popularised in the west, resulting in worldwide recognition as an enlightened being. Ramana Maharshi was born Venkataraman Iyer on 30 December 1879 in the village Tiruchuzhi near Aruppukkottai, Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Venkataraman was the second of four children in an orthodox Hindu Brahmin family. His father was Sundaram Iyer, from the lineage of Parashara and he had two brothers Nagaswami and Nagasundaram, along with a younger sister Alamelu. Venkataramans father was a court pleader, both a paternal uncle of his father and his fathers brother had become sannyasins. Venkataramans family belonged to the Smarta denomination, and regular worship of Siva, Vishnu, Ganesa, Surya, when Venkataraman was seven he had his upanayana, the traditional initiation of the three upper varnas into Brahmanical learning and the knowledge of Self. He had a good memory, being able to recall information after hearing it once. Narasimha notes that Venkataraman used to sleep very deeply, not waking up from loud sounds nor even when his body was beaten by others, when he was about twelve years old, he may have experienced deep meditative states spontaneously. I would be putting attention solely within, forgetting the body, sometimes I would be sitting in one place, but when I regained normal consciousness and got up, I would notice that I was lying down in a different narrow space. Only Tamil was taught at the school in Tiruchuzhi, which he attended for three years. In 1891, when his uncle was transferred to Madurai, Venkataraman, in Dindigul, Venkataraman attended a Hindu School where English was taught, and stayed there for a year. Sundaram Iyer, his father died suddenly on 18 February 1892, after his fathers death, the family split up, Venkataraman and Nagaswami stayed with Subbaiyar in Madurai. Venkataraman first attended Scotts Middle School and then the American Mission High School where he acquainted with Christianity. In November 1895 Venkataraman realized that Arunachala, the mountain, was a real place. He had known of its existence from an age on. During this time he also read Sekkizhars Periyapuranam, a book that describes the lives of the 63 Nayanars, which made an impression on him

24.
Chinmayananda Saraswati
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Chinmayananda is known for teaching Bhagavad gita, the Upanishads, and other ancient Hindu scriptures. From 1951 onward, he spearheaded a global Hindu spiritual and cultural renaissance that popularised the religions esoteric scriptural texts, teaching them in English all across India, Chinmayananda inspired the formation of Chinmaya Mission in 1953. Founded by his disciples and led by him, it is a spiritual, educational and he authored 95 publications, including commentaries on the major Upanishads and Bhagavad gita. He was a professor of Indian philosophy at several American and Asian universities. He died on 3 August 1993 and his mother, Parukutty Amma died while giving birth to her third child. He completed his schooling in Sree Rama Varma High School, Kochi and Vivekodayam School. He completed his FA at the Maharajas College, Ernakulam, and his BA at the St. Thomas College and he went on to Lucknow University to earn postgraduate degrees in literature and law, while completing courses in journalism. Although he would go on to become a spiritual teacher, in his student years. In the summer of 1936, he visited the eminent sage, when word of a warrant for his arrest issued because of these activities reached him, he went undercover. He spent the year moving around in the state of Abbottabad, out of range of British officials. Almost two years after the British had issued his arrest warrant, believing his case was long forgotten, Balan arrived in Punjab and he advised students on distributing leaflets and organising public strikes but was arrested and imprisoned. He spent several months in conditions in prison and caught typhus. This caused him to be among those who were carried out into the night and tossed beside a road on the outskirts of the city, where he was found by a passing Indian Christian. Reminded of her son serving in the army, she took him to her home and called for a doctor, K. Rama Rao gave Balan his first job, at The National Herald. He wrote a series of articles on the imperative of socialism in a society where the vast majority of people were poor and he covered subjects ranging from history and culture to social and political issues. Articles such as In Praise of the Postman, and The Mochi—Symbol of Craftsmanship, in 1947, he began a new series of articles for The Commonweal. It was while working as a journalist that he wrote an article exposing sadhus and he travelled to Sivanandas ashram in Rishikesh for this purpose. He later said, I went not to gain knowledge, in the summer of 1947, Balan arrived in Rishikesh, by the banks of the Ganges and made the one-mile hike to the Divine Life Society, the ashram of Swami Sivananda

25.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
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Nisargadatta Maharaj, born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli, was an Indian Guru of nondualism, belonging to the Inchagiri Sampradaya, a lineage of teachers from the Navnath Sampradaya and Lingayat Shaivism. The publication in 1973 of I Am That, an English translation of his talks in Marathi by Maurice Frydman, brought him recognition and followers, especially from North America. Nisargadatta was born on 17 April 1897 to Shivrampant Kambli and Parvatibai, the day was also Hanuman Jayanti, the birthday of Hanuman, hence the boy was named Maruti, after him. His parents were followers of the Varkari sampradaya, an egalitarian Vaishnavite bhakti tradition which worships Vithoba and his father, Shivrampant, worked as a domestic servant in Mumbai and later became a petty farmer in Kandalgaon. Maruti Shivrampant Kambli was brought up in Kandalgaon, a village in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. In 1915, after his father died, he moved to Bombay to support his family back home, following his elder brother. Initially he worked as a clerk at an office but quickly he opened a small goods store, mainly selling beedis – leaf-rolled cigarettes. In 1924 he married Sumatibai and they had three daughters and a son, in 1933, he was introduced to his guru, Siddharameshwar Maharaj, the head of the Inchegiri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya, by his friend Yashwantrao Baagkar. His guru told him, You are not what you take yourself to be, Siddharameshwar initiated him into the Inchegiri Sampradaya, giving him meditation-instruction and a mantra, which he immediately began to recite. I did not follow any particular course of breathing, or meditation, whatever happened, I would turn away my attention from it and remain with the sense I am. It may look too simple, even crude and my only reason for doing it was that my Guru told me so. My guru told me, Trust me, I tell you, you are Divine, take it as the absolute truth. Your joy is divine, your suffering is divine too and you are God, your will alone is done. I did believe him and soon realized how wonderfully true and accurate were his words, I did not condition my mind by thinking, I am God, I am wonderful, I am beyond. I simply followed his instruction, which was to focus the mind on pure being, I am, I used to sit for hours together, with nothing but the I am in my mind and soon the peace and joy and deep all-embracing love became my normal state. In it all disappeared—myself, my guru, the life I lived, only peace remained, and unfathomable silence. After an association that lasted two and a half years, Siddharameshwar Maharaj died on 9 November 1936. In 1937, he left Mumbai and travelled across India, after eight months he returned to his family in Mumbai in 1938

26.
Nammalvar
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Nammalvar is one of the twelve alwar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of alwars are compiled as Nalayira Divya Prabandham and the 108 temples revered are classified as Divya Desam, Nammalvar is considered the fifth in the line of the twelve alwars. He is highly regarded as a mystic of the Vaishnava tradition. He is also considered the greatest among the twelve alwars and his contributions amount to 1352 among the 4000 stanzas in the Nalayira Divya Prabandam, according to traditional scriptures, Nammalwar was born in 3059 BCE in Alwarthirunagiri. The works of Nammalwar were compiled by Madhurakavi as four different works, the works of Nammalwar contributed to the philosophical and theological ideas of Vaishnavism. Along with the three Shaiva Nayanars Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar, they influenced the ruling Pallava kings of South India, in South Indian Vaishnava temples, Nammalwar is given a status equal to that of Hindu god Vishnu and has images and festivals associated with him. The Garudasevai festival in Nava Tirupathi, the nine Vishnu temples in Thoothukudi region, the verses of Nammalwar and other alwars are recited as a part of daily prayers and during festive occasions in most Vishnu temples in South India. The word alwar means the one who dives deep into the ocean of the attributes of god. The Alwars are considered the twelve supreme devotees of Vishnu who were instrumental in popularising Vaishnavism, the saints had different origins and belonged to different castes. As per tradition, the first three alwars, Poigai Azhwar, Bhoothath Azhwar and Pey Azhwar were born miraculously, according to these texts, the saints were considered incarnations of some form of Vishnu. The songs of Prabandam are regularly sung in all the Vishnu temples of South India daily, according to traditional account by Manavala Mamunigal, the first three alwars namely Poigai, Bhoothath and Pey belong to the Dvapara Yuga. It is widely accepted by tradition and historians that the trio are the earliest among the twelve alwars, along with the three Shaiva Nayanars, they influenced the ruling Pallava kings, creating a bhakti movement that resulted in changing the religious geography from Buddhism and Jainism to Hinduism. The alwars were instrumental in promoting the Bhagavatha cult and the two epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabarata. The alwars were instrumental in spreading Vaishnavism throughout the region, the verses of the various alwars were compiled by Nathamuni, a 10th-century Vaishnava theologian, who called it the Tamil Veda. According to traditional scriptures, Nammalwar was born in 43rd Kali of 3059 BC and he was born in a Pillai family at Thirukurukur in the southernmost region of the Tamil country. Some sources consider his to have been a family, although of shudra status. Tradition says that he must have been born fully enlightened because as a baby he never cried or suckled, according to legend, as a child he responded to no external stimuli and his parents left him at the feet of the deity of Sri Adhinathar in Alwarthirunagari. The child then got up and climbed into a hole in a tamarind, sat in the lotus position, and began to meditate

27.
Alvars
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They are venerated especially in Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme Being. Many modern academics place the Alvars date between 5th century to 10th century CE, however traditionally the Alvars are considered to have lived between 4200 BCE -2700 BCE. Orthodoxy posits the number of alvars as ten, though there are references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar. Andal is the only female saint-poet in the 12 Alvars, together with the contemporary sixty three Shaiva Nayanars, they are among the most important saints from Tamil Nadu. The devotional outpourings of Alvars, composed during the medieval period of Tamil history, helped revive the bhakti movement, through their hymns of worship to Vishnu. They praised the Divya Desams,108 abodes of these Vaishnava deities, the poetry of the Alvars echoes bhakti to God through love, and in the ecstasy of such devotions they sang hundreds of songs which embodied both depth of feeling and felicity of expressions. The collection of their hymns is known as Divya Prabandha, in addition they helped to make the Tamil religious life independent of a knowledge of Sanskrit. As part of the legacy of the Alvars, five Vaishnava philosophical traditions have developed at the later stages, the word azhwar has traditionally been etymologized as from Tamil. Azh, to immerse oneself as one who dives deep into the ocean of the attributes of god However recently Indologist S. He states, āzhvār is but a form of āļvār which has been used interchangeably with nāyanār in secular and religious contexts in the Tamil land. This error was due to the influence of the sound variation that has occurred in the Srirangam area. The original word ஆள்வார் compares with the epithet Āṇḍãḷ ( for the female canonized Vaishnava saint Kōtai (, āḷ (, the former being the honorific non-past form and the latter the feminine past form of that same verb. Alvars are considered the twelve supreme devotees of Vishnu, who were instrumental in popularising Vaishnavism in the Tamil-speaking regions, the alvars were influential in promoting the Bhagavata cult and the two Hindu epics, namely, Ramayana and Mahabaratha. The verses of the various azhwars were compiled by Nathamuni, a 10th-century Vaishnavite theologian, the songs of Prabandam are regularly sung in all the Vishnu temples of South India daily and also during festivals. The saints had different origins and belonged to different castes, as per tradition, the first three alvars, Poigai, Bhutha and Pey were born miraculously. According to these texts, the saints were considered incarnations of some form of Vishnu, according to traditional account by Manavala Mamunigal, the first three azhwars namely Poigai, Bhoothath and Pey belong to Dwapara Yuga. It is widely accepted by tradition and historians that the trio are the earliest among the twelve azhwars, some modern scholars suggest that they lived during 5th - 9th century CE, on the basis of a few historical evidences, although no clear evidence exists. The Encyclopædia Britannica says that Alvars lived between 7th-10th century CE, professor of Religion and Asian Studies, James G

28.
Yamunacharya
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Yamunacharya or Alavandar was a Vishistadvaita philosopher in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India. Ramanuja, one of the leaders of the school sought to be his disciple. He was born in early 10th century CE and was the grandson of a Brahmin, Nathamuni was a famed yogi who collected to the works of Tamil alvars. He grew up learning Vedic texts from Rama Misra also known as Manakkal Nambi and was skilled in mimansa, sirvaishnavite legend relates this history—As a teenager he challenged the royal priest Akkiyalvan of the Pandya king. Akkiyalvan, when he saw the age of the youth, asked sarcastically alavandara, meaning has he come to rule me. He defeated Akkiyalvan by proving through the rules of logic that Akkiyalvans mother was barren, the king was not righteous. The king and queen, impressed that the boy has understood the shortcomings of logic, in other versions of the legend, he is given half the kingdom. There is no record to show his reign so it is possible that this happened in a smaller village rather than the kingdom of Pandya. After years of rule, Mannakal Nambi tricked him into visiting the temple of Ranganatha, there, he had an epiphany and gave up the material duties of a king and became a sanyasin embracing saranagati. He composed the chatushloki and Strotra Ratna at that spot, Mannakal Nambi handed over the reins of Natha Munis school including the collected Divya Prabandha and renamed him Yamuna Muni or Yamunacharya. As he grew older, he was perturbed that he could not finish the tasks he had set for himself, however, he died before he could talk with Ramanuja. Srivaishnavite devotees say that his corpse had curled three fingers and when Ramanuja saw these, he understood the tasks and promised to finish them whereupon the fingers straightened. The names of Parashara and Veda Vyasa, should be commemorated on the earth by giving it to a worthy to bear it. Compose a commentary on Tiruvaymozhi of Nammalvar the most prolific of Alvars, compose a commentary on Upanishads, Vedanta Sutras and Bhagavad Gita

29.
Pillai Lokacharya
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Pillai Lokacharya was a prominent Sri Vaishnava leader and philosopher who authored several works important to Vishishtadvaita philosophy. The name Ulag-Ariya first became associated with Sri Nampillai when Sri Kanthadai Thozhappar celebrated him as the acharya for the world, nampillais disciple was Sri Vadakku Thiruveethippillai. Out of great affection for his acharya, Vadakku Thiruveethippillai named his first son as Pillai Lokacharya, once Nampillai asked Vadakkuth Thiruveethip pillais mother Ammi about her welfare. She told him that she was sad as her family was not being furthered because her son was staying away from his wife and was not having a child, Nampillai asked her to bring her daughter-in-law to his presence. When she did, he told her daughter-in-law that she would birth to a son just like himself. He then called his disciple Vadakkuth Thiruveethippillai and told him to follow proper gruhastAsrama, Vadakkuth Thiruveethippillai obeyed his acharyas words and in time a son was born to him, he named him Pillai Lokacharya out of respect for his acharya. While worshipping Lord Renganatha with his disciples son on his Apthapoorthi day, the second son was named Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Nayanar, after Lord Renganatha. Sri Pillai Lokacharya was born as the amsam of Kanchi Devaraja Perumal in the month of Aippasi under the star Thiruvonam, in their youth, both brothers learned everything from their acharya Nampillai as well as from their father. They grew up like Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana, in foreword to his vyakhyanam of Sri Vacana Bhushanam, Manavala Mamunigal tells of the following event. Once upon a time Kanchi Devaraja Perumal out of His nirhEduka krupa selected one Manarpakkam Nambi and he also advised him to go live in Srirangam and wait for Him there where He will teach him in further detail those meanings. Manarpakkam Nambi moved to Srirangam, built a temple and quietly lived there worshipping Him. One day Pillai Lokacharya came to temple with his close disciples. Nambi listening from inside noted that these meanings were the same as taught by Lord Varadaraja to him and he then came out and bowing at Pillai Lokacharyas feet, asked him AvarO neer. Pillai Lokacharya replied Yes, what for that, Manarpakkam Nambi explained his dream to him. This is the avatara rahasyam of Pillai Lokacharya, Pillai Lokacharya then took him as his disciple and taught him the meanings of the rahasyas. Nambi then told him that Lord Varadaraja had asked him to request Pillai Lokacharya to collect these meanings as a book, the book thus written is Sri Vacana Bhushanam. Manavala Mamunigal speaks of the greatness of this work in several pasurams in his UpadesaratthinamAlai, Mamunigal also says that this is the greatest of Pilla Lokacharyas works. Both Sri Pillai Lokacharya and Sri Azhagiya Manavala Perumal Nayanar remained as Brahmachaaris to make sure that their vyraakyam is not hindered, because of this only, they were boldly able to advise that for a Sri Vaishnava, leading a marriage life even with his wife is not good

30.
Madhvacharya
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Madhva Acharya, also known as Purna Prajña and Ananda Teertha, was a Hindu philosopher and the chief proponent of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy as Tattvavada meaning the realist viewpoint, madhvācārya was born on the west coast of Karnataka state in 13th-century India. As a teenager, he became a Sanyasin joining Brahma-sampradaya guru Achyutapreksha, Madhva studied the classics of Hindu philosophy, particularly the Principal Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras. He commented on these, and is credited with thirty seven works in Sanskrit and his writing style was of extreme brevity and condensed expression. His greatest work is considered to be the Anuvyakhyana, a supplement to his bhasya on the Brahma Sutras composed with a poetic structure. In some of his works, he proclaimed himself to be an avatar of Vayu and he was a critic of Adi Shankaras Advaita Vedanta and Ramanujas Vishishtadvaita Vedanta teachings. He toured India several times, visiting places such as Bengal, Varanasi, Dwarka, Goa and Kanyakumari, engaging in philosophical debates, Madhva established the Krishna Mutt at Udupi with a murti secured from Dwarka Gujarat in AD1285. His schools theistic dualism teachings disagreed with the monist teachings of the two most influential schools of Vedanta based on Advaitas nondualism and Vishishtadvaitas qualified nondualism. Salvation, asserted Madhva, is only through the grace of God. Madhvas historical influence in Hinduism, state Kulandran and Kraemer, has been salutary, the biography of Madhvacharya is unclear. Many sources date him to 1238–1317 period, but some place him about the 1199-1278 period, madhvācārya was born in Pajaka near Udupi, a coastal Malabar region of south-west India in the state of Karnataka. Traditionally it is believed that Naddantillaya was the name of his father, born in a Vaishnavite Brahmin household, he was named Vāsudeva. Later he became famous by the names Purnaprajna, Anandatirtha and Madhvacarya, pūrnaprajña was the name given to him at the time of his initiation into sannyasa, as a teenager. The name conferred on him when he became the head of his monastery was Ānanda Tīrtha, all three of his later names are found in his works. Madhvācārya or Madhva are names most commonly found in literature on him. Madhva began his school after his Upanayana at age seven, became a monk or Sannyasi in his teenage and he joined an Advaita Vedanta monastery in Dwarka, accepted his guru to be Achyutrapreksha, who is also referred to as Achyutraprajna in some sources. Madhva never acknowledged Achyutrapreksha as his guru or his lineage in his writings. A number of semi-fictional hagiographies have been written by Madhvas disciples, of these, the most referred to is the sixteen cantos Sanskrit biography Madhvavijaya by Nārāyana Panditācārya – son of Trivikrama Pandita, who himself was a disciple of Madhva

Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu syn

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Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and USA, raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.

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The Rigveda is the first and most important Veda and is one of the oldest religious texts. This Rigveda manuscript is in Devanagari.

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A wedding is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life. A typical Hindu wedding is solemnized before Vedic fire ritual (shown).

Samkhya
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Samkhya or Sankhya is one of the six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy. It is most related to the Yoga school of Hinduism, Sāmkhya is an enumerationist philosophy whose epistemology accepts three of six pramanas as the only reliable means of gaining knowledge. These include pratyakṣa, anumāṇa and śabda, sometimes described as one of the rationalis

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King Amsuman and the yogic sage Kapila.

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Elements in Samkhya philosophy

Yoga (philosophy)
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Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism. Ancient, medieval and most modern literature often refers to the Yoga school of Hinduism simply as Yoga and it is closely related to the Samkhya school of Hinduism. The Yoga schools systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all schoo

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A statue of a man in yoga posture (Kashmir, India).

Nyaya
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Nyāya, literally means rules, method or judgment. It is also the name of one of the six schools of Hinduism. This schools most significant contributions to Indian philosophy was systematic development of the theory of logic, methodology, Nyaya schools epistemology accepts four out of six Pramanas as reliable means of gaining knowledge – Pratyakṣa,

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Plato – Kant – Nietzsche

Vedanta
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Vedanta or Uttara Mīmāṃsā is one of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. It represents the divergent philosophical views of more than 10 schools—all developed on the basis of a textual connection called the Prasthanatrayi. The Prasthanatrayi is a term for the Principal Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras. Vedanta does not stand for one comprehe

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Vallabhacharya

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Shankaracharya

Advaita Vedanta
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Advaita Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy and religious practice, and one of the classic Indian paths to spiritual realization. The term Advaita refers to its idea that the soul is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality, Advaita Vedanta traces its roots in the oldest Upanishads. It relies on three textual sources called the Prasthanatra

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Statue of Gaudapada, the grand guru of Adi Shankara and the first historical proponent of Advaita Vedanta, also believed to be the founder of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math

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Adi Shankara with Disciples, by Raja Ravi Varma (1904)

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(Vidyashankara temple) at Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Shringeri

Vishishtadvaita
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Vishishtadvaita, the philosophy of the Sri Sampradaya, is one of the most popular schools of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. Vedanta literally means the end of the Vedas, primarily the word Vedanta stood for Upanishads, afterwords, its denotation widened to include all thoughts developed out of the Upanishads. VishishtAdvaita is a school of

Shuddhadvaita
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Vallabhacharyas pure form philosophy is different from Advaita. The Shrinathji temple at Nathdwara, and compositions of eight poets, though the tradition originated near Vrindavana in the current Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, in modern times followers of Shuddadvaita are concentrated in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. In the ancient Vedic tra

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Vallabhacharya, who propounded the philosophy of Shuddadvaita

Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by sch

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Standing Buddha statue at the Tokyo National Museum. One of the earliest known representations of the Buddha, 1st–2nd century CE.

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Ascetic Gautama with his five companions, who later comprised the first Sangha. (Painting in Laotian temple)

Jainism
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Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is an ancient Indian religion belonging to the śramaṇa tradition. The central tenet is non-violence and respect all living beings. The three main principles of Jainism are ahimsa, anekantavada and aparigraha, followers of Jainism take five main vows, ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha. Ja

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Siddhas (the liberated beings), although they are formless, this is how they are depicted in Jain temples

Vaishnavism
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Vaishnavism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism, its followers are called Vaishnavas, the tradition is notable for its avatar doctrine, wherein Vishnu is revered in one of many distinct incarnations. Of these, ten avatars of Vishnu are the most studied, Krishna, Ram

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Vaishnavite Brahmin students at a theological seminary in Tanjore. Source: The National Geographic Magazine, Nov 1909

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Krishna murti (left) with Radha

Smarta tradition
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Smarta tradition is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. This Puranic religion is notable for the worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal – Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Surya. The Smarta tradition contrasted with the older Shrauta tradition, which was based on elaborate rituals,

Shaktism
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Shaktism is a major tradition of Hinduism, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered feminine and the Devi is supreme. It includes a variety of goddesses, all considered aspects of the supreme goddess. Shaktism has different sub-traditions, ranging from those focussed on gracious Lakshmi to fierce Kali, the Sruti and Smriti texts of Hinduism a

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Shiva and Shakti in the half-male, half-female form of Ardhanari (Elephanta caves, 5th century CE, Mumbai, India)

Shaivism
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Shaivism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism that reveres Shiva as the Supreme Being or its metaphysical concept of Brahman. The followers of Shaivism are called Shaivas or Saivas, like much of Hinduism, the Shaiva have many sub-traditions, ranging from devotional dualistic theism such as Shaiva Siddhanta to yoga-oriented monistic non-th

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The Development of the Saiva Traditions. Source: Gavinf Flood (1997), An Introduction to Hinduism, p.152.

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1008 Lingas carved on a rock surface. Photograph is taken at the shore of the river Tungabhadra, Hampi, India

Pashupata Shaivism
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Pashupata Shaivism is the oldest of the major Shaivite Hindu schools. The philosophy of the Pashupata sect was systematized by Lakulish in the 2nd century A. D, the main texts of the school are Gaṇakārikā, Pañchārtha bhāshyadipikā and Rāśikara-bhāshya. The date of foundation of the school is uncertain, however, the Pashupatas may have existed from

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History

Shaiva Siddhanta
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Saiva siddhānta, provides the normative rites, cosmology and theological categories of Agamic and Vedic Shaivam combined. Being a dualistic philosophy, the goal of Shaiva Siddhanta is to become a soul through Lord Sivas Grace. This tradition was once practiced all over India, however the Muslim subjugation of North India restricted Shaiva Siddhanta

Tantra
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Tantra is the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that co-developed most likely about the middle of 1st millennium CE. The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable text, theory, system, method, instrument, in Hinduism, the tantra tradition is most often associated with its goddess tradition called

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Sri Yantra diagram with the Ten Mahavidyas. The triangles represent Shiva and Shakti, the snake represents Spanda and Kundalini.

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Tantric Feast, India, Himachal Pradesh, Nurpur, circa 1790

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Making of a Tibetan Sand mandala.

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A sadhu smoking cannabis.

Jaimini
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Jaimini was an ancient Indian scholar who founded the Mimansa school of Hindu philosophy. He is traditionally attributed to be the author of the Mimamsa Sutras text and he is estimated to have lived around the 4th-century BCE. His school is considered non-theistic, but one that emphasized rituals parts of the Vedas as essential to Dharma, jaiminis

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Jaimini and the birds.

Gaudapada
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Gauḍapāda, also referred as Gauḍapādacharya, was an early medieval era scholar of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details of his biography are uncertain, his ideas inspired others such as Adi Shankara who called him a Paramaguru, Gaudapada was the author or compiler of the Māṇḍukya Kārikā, also known as Gaudapada Karika. The text cons

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Adi Guru Shri Gauḍapādāchārya

Adi Shankara
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Adi Shankara was a philosopher and theologian from India who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. He is credited with unifying and establishing the main currents of thought in Hinduism and his works in Sanskrit discuss the unity of the ātman and Nirguna Brahman brahman without attributes. He wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon in

Ramakrishna
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Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Ramkṛiṣṇo Pôromôhongśo,17 February 1836 –16 August 1886), born Gadadhar Chatterjee or Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, was an Indian mystic and yogi during the 19th-century. Admiration for him amongst Bengali elites led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda. Ramakrishna was born on 17 Feb

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Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar

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The small house at Kamarpukur where Ramakrishna lived (centre). The family shrine is on the left, birthplace temple on the right

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Dakshineswar Kāli Temple, where Ramakrishna spent a major portion of his adult life.

Swami Vivekananda
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Swami Vivekananda Bengali, Shāmi Bibekānondo,12 January 1863 –4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a force in the revival of Hinduism in India. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission and he is perhaps best known for his s

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Vivekananda in Chicago, September 1893. On the left, Vivekananda wrote: "one infinite pure and holy – beyond thought beyond qualities I bow down to thee".

Ramana Maharshi
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Ramana Maharshi /ˈrʌmənə məhʌˈrɪʃi/ was an Indian sage and jivanmukta. He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is most commonly known under the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and he was born in what is now Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India. This resulted in a state which he described as the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani. Six weeks later he left his

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Sri Ramana Maharshi in his late 60s.

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Temple of Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu

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Venkataraman as a young man.

Chinmayananda Saraswati
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Chinmayananda is known for teaching Bhagavad gita, the Upanishads, and other ancient Hindu scriptures. From 1951 onward, he spearheaded a global Hindu spiritual and cultural renaissance that popularised the religions esoteric scriptural texts, teaching them in English all across India, Chinmayananda inspired the formation of Chinmaya Mission in 195

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A portrait of Swami Chinmayananda in 1990

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Chinmayananda on the day of his Sannyas initiation, standing on the right of Sivananda Saraswati and other disciples, 25 February 1949, Maha Shivratri Day, Rishikesh.

Nisargadatta Maharaj
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Nisargadatta Maharaj, born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli, was an Indian Guru of nondualism, belonging to the Inchagiri Sampradaya, a lineage of teachers from the Navnath Sampradaya and Lingayat Shaivism. The publication in 1973 of I Am That, an English translation of his talks in Marathi by Maurice Frydman, brought him recognition and followers, especi

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Nisargadatta Maharaj

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Nisargadatta Maharaj met his guru Siddharameshwar Maharaj in 1933.

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Nisargadatta's "I Am That" in Hindi.

Nammalvar
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Nammalvar is one of the twelve alwar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of alwars are compiled as Nalayira Divya Prabandham and the 108 temples revered are classified as Divya Desam, Nammalvar is considered the fifth in the line of the twelve alwars. He is highly regar

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Nammalvar

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Swami Nammaalvar with Madhurakavi Alvar and Nathamunigal

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Devotees during Vaikunta Ekadesi

Alvars
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They are venerated especially in Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu or Krishna as the Supreme Being. Many modern academics place the Alvars date between 5th century to 10th century CE, however traditionally the Alvars are considered to have lived between 4200 BCE -2700 BCE. Orthodoxy posits the number of alvars as ten, though there are references th

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Nammalvar

Yamunacharya
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Yamunacharya or Alavandar was a Vishistadvaita philosopher in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India. Ramanuja, one of the leaders of the school sought to be his disciple. He was born in early 10th century CE and was the grandson of a Brahmin, Nathamuni was a famed yogi who collected to the works of Tamil alvars. He grew up learning Vedic texts from Rama Mis

Pillai Lokacharya
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Pillai Lokacharya was a prominent Sri Vaishnava leader and philosopher who authored several works important to Vishishtadvaita philosophy. The name Ulag-Ariya first became associated with Sri Nampillai when Sri Kanthadai Thozhappar celebrated him as the acharya for the world, nampillais disciple was Sri Vadakku Thiruveethippillai. Out of great affe

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Swami Pillai Lokacharya

Madhvacharya
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Madhva Acharya, also known as Purna Prajña and Ananda Teertha, was a Hindu philosopher and the chief proponent of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy as Tattvavada meaning the realist viewpoint, madhvācārya was born on the west coast of Karnataka state in 13th-century India. As a teenager, he became a Sanyasin joining Brahma-

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A message from Jaladuta Diary Journal kept by Prabhupada. Between 25 August 1965 and 30 August 1965, the Jaladuta Journal falls silent for six days. On the seventh day, 31 August, the silence is broken with these simple words, "Passed over a great crisis on the struggle for life and death."

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Rigveda (padapatha) manuscript in Devanagari, early 19th century. After a scribal benediction ("śrīgaṇéśāyanamaḥ;; Aum(3);;"), the first line has the opening words of RV.1.1.1 (agniṃ; iḷe; puraḥ-hitaṃ; yajñasya; devaṃ; ṛtvijaṃ). The Vedic accent is marked by underscores and vertical overscores in red.